Pharmacy News Article

Jan. 19MURRAY, Ky. Calloway County Sheriff Bill Marcum peers into a bucket filled with prescription drugs.

He doesn't care about the names of the people who have the medicine or the pharmaceutical names themselves. All he cares about is that those drugs are off the streets and out of the hands of people who might abuse them.

Marcum is working with the Pennyrile Narcotics Drug Task Force on a campaign to safely dispose of old medication. During the past three Make a Difference Day collections, the Calloway County Sheriff's Office has collected 71/2 gallons of unwanted medication and has another 12 gallons at its office, 304 Maple St.

Deputies take the medication to the Kentucky State Police in Madisonville for proper disposal.

"A lot of people think because the doctor gives it to them, it's OK to take," Marcum said. "Grandma might have a pain pill or an Oxycontin and the kids might get into it."

One of the most disturbing trends in Marcum's eyes is the so-called "pharm parties" in which teens dump containers of medication into a large bowl and then scoop out handfuls. Those handfuls could contain anything from prescription pain killers to heart medication or even old vitamins.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a half million people who required emergency room treatment for drug overdoses had misused prescription drugs in 2000.

Also, the number of teens and young adults to age 25 recorded as abusers of prescription painkillers rose from 400,000 in the mid-1980s to 2 million in 2000, according to government statistics.

"We have had issues with prescription drug abuse," Marcum said, noting that it's not just a local issue, but a state and national one.

Arkansas and Kentucky lead the nation in teens abusing prescription pain relievers, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

As spring cleaning arrives, Marcum encourages people to bring unwanted or old prescriptions to his office for the collection program. The program is open to anyone in the region.

Leigh Landini Wright can be contacted at 575-8658.